Solvable

It can take years to get to the top of the waiting list for a donated kidney in the U.S. So when Sally Satel found out she’d need a kidney transplant, she wondered why she couldn’t just buy one. We’ll hear from a behavioral economist and a bioethicist who shed light on the ban on organ sales and whether it’s possible to create an ethical compensation program for organs.

Show notes:
In addition to Sally Satel, this episode features interviews with: 

Jeffrey Kahn, Andreas C. Dracopolous Director of the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics

Mario Macis, Professor of Economic, Johns Hopkins Carey Business School

This episode references the National Organ Transplant Act (NOTA), passed in 1984. This act established the national Organ Procurement & Transplantation Network (OPTN), which is operated by an outside contractor, the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS).

The OPTN has its own ethics committee that has written guiding principles that influence how organs are allocated in the US. You can read this guidance here. 

To learn more about the ethics issues raised in this episode, visit the Berman Institute’s episode guide. 

The Greenwall Foundation seeks to make bioethics integral to decisions in health care, policy, and research. Learn more at greenwall.org.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One day, when she was only 39, bar manager Jamie Imhof collapsed. While she lay in a coma, doctors told her family that they knew how to save her life: she needed an immediate liver transplant. But, transplant centers follow an informal “rule” when it comes to patients whose livers fail due to heavy alcohol use. Jamie would not be eligible for a new liver for six months. For a case as severe as Jamie’s, waiting six months would be a death sentence. We hear about the “six month rule” for liver transplants and why one Johns Hopkins surgeon says it’s a practice based on stigma, not science. 

Show notes:
In addition to Jamie Imhof, this episode features interviews with:

Jeffrey Kahn, Andreas C. Dracopolous Director of the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics

Andrew Cameron, Surgeon-in-chief at Johns Hopkins Hospital, where Jamie had her surgery

If you or your loved one is struggling with alcohol use, visit the SAMHSA website to find help or call 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

The United Organ Transplant Service (UNOS) helps distribute organs for transplant across the country. You can read more about how livers are distributed at their website. 

To learn more about Andrew Cameron’s program that challenges the six month rule, read this article from Hopkins Medicine Magazine. 

To learn more about the ethics issues raised in this episode, visit the Berman Institute’s episode guide. 

The Greenwall Foundation seeks to make bioethics integral to decisions in health care, policy, and research. Learn more at greenwall.org.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To deploy responsible AI and build trust with customers, businesses need to prioritize AI governance. In this episode of Smart Talks with IBM, Malcolm Gladwell and Laurie Santos discuss AI accountability with Christina Montgomery, Chief Privacy and Trust Officer at IBM. They chat about AI regulation, what compliance means in the AI age, and why transparent AI governance is good for business.

Visit us at: https://www.ibm.com/smarttalks/

Explore watsonx.governance: https://www.ibm.com/products/watsonx-governance

This is a paid advertisement from IBM.

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When a 13 year-old girl from Oakland named Jahi McMath was pronounced brain dead after a surgical complication in 2013, California issued her a death certificate. Five years later, she received a second death certificate in New Jersey. How could one person die twice? In this episode, we learn that the line between life and death isn’t always as clear as you might think. 

Show notes:
This episode features interviews with:

Yolonda Wilson, Associate Professor at the Albert Gnaegi Center for Health Care Ethics at Saint Louis University

Jeffrey Kahn, Andreas C. Dracopolous Director of the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics

Bob Truog, who is the Frances Glessner Lee Distinguished Professor of Medical Ethics, Anaesthesia, and Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and Boston Children’s Hospital.

This episode references a New Yorker article about Jahi’s case, which you can read here. It also references the Uniform Determination of Death Act (UDDA), which you can read here. 

To learn more about the ethics issues raised in this episode visit the Berman Institute’s episode guide.

The Greenwall Foundation seeks to make bioethics integral to decisions in healthcare, policy and research. Learn more at greenwall.org. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While Andrea Rubin lay unconscious and severely burned after a car fire, her father told doctors to do everything they could to keep her alive. She would need many surgeries. Her quality of life wouldn’t be the same. Her friends were outraged. They told doctors that Andrea would not want to live that way. While Andrea was being kept alive on a ventilator, her loved ones fought about what would be best for her. In this episode, we explore how medical decisions are made for patients who are incapable of deciding for themselves.

Show notes:
In addition to Andrea Rubin, this episode features interviews with:

Jeffrey Kahn, Andreas C. Dracopolous Director of the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics

Monica Gerrek, Co-director of the Center for Biomedical Ethics at MetroHealth System (where Andrea was treated)

You can learn more about Andrea’s case here. 

A similar case to Andrea’s happened in the 1970s. A man named Dax Cowart repeatedly asked doctors to let him die after suffering severe burns. But the doctors continued to treat him against his wishes. Here’s an interview with Mr. Cowart ten years after his accident, where he talks about his experience with the Washington Post. Dr. Gerrek wrote a paper comparing the two cases, and showing how medical decision making for severe burn patients has evolved over the past 50 years. 

For further reading about medical decision making and patient autonomy, visit the Berman Institute’s episode guide. 

The Greenwall Foundation seeks to make bioethics integral to decisions in health care, policy, and research. Learn more at greenwall.org.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As businesses adopt AI, a new era of problem-solving, innovation, and creative decision making can be brought to scale. In this episode of Smart Talks with IBM, Malcolm Gladwell and Jacob Goldstein explore the future of AI for business with Kareem Yusuf, Senior Vice President of Product Management and Growth for IBM Software. They discuss the advent of foundation models, how AI can transform data storage and decision making, and how next-generation AI platforms like watsonx from IBM can empower businesses to use AI at scale.

This is a paid advertisement from IBM.

Visit us at ibm.com/smarttalks

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In the battles over gun rights, a shadowy English nobleman from the 17th century has unexpectedly taken center stage. Who was he? What did he do that has — 300 years later — endeared him to a generation of legal scholars? Revisionist History explores the cult of personality around the mysterious Sir John Knight. Enjoy this episode from Revisionist History, another Pushkin Industries podcast.

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Former Solvable host Ronald Young Jr has a new podcast! “Weight For It unpacks the nuanced thoughts of fat folks, and of all folks who think about their weight all the time. Through narrative storytelling and some memoir, host Ronald Young Jr. hopes to have the conversations that we tend to avoid when it comes to our bodies.” Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts: https://apple.co/45kiRLG

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Here's a preview from Good Sport, a new show from TED. What does it take to be a sports hot-take artist? And, could Jody do it? Sports debate shows aren’t always about facts – they’re about getting people to watch by any means necessary. And these shows pretty much wrote the playbook on how we debate across the media. In this episode, Jody gets coached on how to argue like a sportscaster from sports television host and friend Katie Nolan, and dives into the history of “televised antagonism” with journalist James Andrew Miller. Listen to hear how sports debate shows changed the media landscape forever. Find Good Sport wherever you get your podcasts.

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After a historic 355 days in orbit, NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei returned to Earth on March 30, 2022, breaking the record for the longest single spaceflight by an American. In this episode of Smart Talks with IBM, Malcolm Gladwell and Mark Vande Hei discuss conducting experiments in space, the impact of extended spaceflight on humans, and the spiciness of space chili peppers.

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